The IDF “had no military option” other than to demolish buildings in Rafah and blow up the tunnels beneath them, a senior British military officer has concluded following a trip to Israel and Gaza.

Ian Liles OBE, a retired senior army officer of 37 years, returned from the region just over a month ago as part of a delegation comprised of politicians and senior military officials from seven different countries belonging to NATO.

Liles says the recent “inexplicable decisions” championed by the UK government towards Israel - such as suspending some arms export licences to the country –prompted him last week to write about his experience in Israel. 

Liles describes Rafah as a city with “tens of kilometres of concreted tunnels costing millions of £” which, combined with homes being booby trapped, was evidence of “preparation for war over a protracted period”.

“The IDF had no military option but to drop the houses and blow up the tunnels once they were cleared of hostages,” Liles writes.

He says his party was briefed on IDF targeting, “the go, no go for release of weapons was stringent to avoid civilian casualties,” with most strikes being carried out with precision munitions.

The IDF, Liles claims, avoids unnecessary collateral damage through “far more checks [and] balances than some of the operations I had been involved in as a coalition officer. Personally, I think the IDF has shown enormous restraint and been at pains to attack Hamas and not non-combatants.”

In a nearly four-decades-long military career, Liles saw combat in countries such as Bosnia, Northern Ireland and Afghanistan.

Liles also claimed “there is NO deliberate starvation” by Israel, contrary to claims that the IDF is withholding food or employing starvation tactics on the Gazan population.

“The Rafah crossing was reopened by the Israelis to facilitate humanitarian aid getting into Gaza. They built kilometres of roads to help the convoys. Enough food is getting into Gaza, internal distribution is the issue,” he said.

One formerly vibrant kibbutz visited by the group, Liles described as “only burnt-out homes and reminders of the horror these poor people endured. Murder, rape, mutilation, all premeditated, all abhorrent, all evil.”